Educational Resources for Preventing Deadly Conflict

PREVENTING DEADLY CONFLICT

WHY SHOULD WE CARE?

STUDENT HANDOUTS

HANDOUT #2 POSSIBLE CAUSES OF DEADLY CONFLICT

Most deadly conflicts that exist today were not a total surprise. Governments, NGO’s (nongovernmental organizations) and other members of the international community knew there was and for some reason could not or would not prevent it from reaching a flash point. Below is a list of causes of deadly conflict. Which of the following causes fit your assigned area of conflict?

AREA OF DEADLY CONFLICT ________________________

CAUSES SPECIFIC EXAMPLE IN ASSIGNED AREA

Political & economic legacies
of the Cold War or colonialism

Illegitimate government
institutions

Problematic regional
relationships

Inter-group rivalries

Widespread illiteracy

Disease & disability

Lack of natural resources

Political repression

Economic deprivation

Cultural discrimination

Political demagogues
or criminal elements

Borders with kin states

Despotic leaders

Weak, corrupt or collapsed
governments

Sudden economic or
political shifts

Large stores of weapons

HANDOUT #3

STUDENT LOG

During the course of the unit on Preventing Deadly Conflict you will be responsible for maintaining a journal on specific lessons and activities. Your journal will reflect your reactions, opinions, and responses to your exposure to the concepts surrounding this topic. In addition you will be evaluated on your writings and scored according to the rubric outline below. The objective of your journal writing is to help the student think through lessons, and respond in such a way that it enhances their critical thinking skills. The writings will help their instructors evaluate whether the information presented is understood, therefore serving as an evaluation tool to help re-design areas where there seems to be a lack of understanding.

Areas of journal response – six individual entries

Day one introductory lesson

Day three at the conclusion of the tools of foreign policy activities.

Day five on the video, "Land of the Demons."

Day seven after the fictional case study activity.

Day fifteen after the fictional case study activity.

A concluding entry on your response/reaction to the entire unit.

HANDOUT #4

GRADING RUBRIC FOR STUDENT LOG

4 Sophisticated

Journal is written in sentence form with well-developed paragraphs.
Clear evidence of critical thinking skills with extensive data to support your perspective.
Journal is neat, organized, and coherent.
All six entries indicate a serious attempt to understand the major concepts of preventing deadly concept.
IIIIIIIII Agreement is not a necessary component.

3 Adequate

Journal is written in sentence form, using paragraph format.
Evidence of critical thinking skills, and some data from unit used to support your perspective.
Journal is neat and organized.
All six entries included with an attempt to show understanding of the concepts of deadly conflict. Agreement is not a necessary component.

2 Superficial

Inconsistent sentence and paragraph form used.
Some evidence of critical thinking skills, but lacks data to support your perspective
Journal is neat, but lacks organization and coherency.
All six entries attempted, but lack an understanding of the major concepts. May have fewer than six entries, but the quality of the writings shows some basic understanding of the concepts.

1. Inadequate

Written with haste, lacks proper sentence format, and shows no paragraph development.
Lacks critical thinking skills, information is more factual and/or may be lacking any personal perspective.
Lacks neatness, organization and coherency.
Has less than six entries, shows little understanding or use of deadly conflict concepts.

Not attempted

HANDOUT #5

TOOLS OF FOREIGN POLICY

PROPAGANDA	DIPLOMACY	TRADE RELATIONS
FOREIGN AID	ALLIANCES	INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
BOYCOTTS, SANCTIONS AND INDUCEMENTS		MILITARY FORCE

HANDOUT #6 ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF EFFECTIVE PREVENTIVE ACTIONS

EARLY REACTION TO SIGNS OF TROUBLE

USED IN
BOSNIA?

COULD HAVE
BEEN USED

Use UN, regional organizations, coalition of concerned states,
& NGO’s to help build capable states

promote democracy
increase educational levels
foster economic growth
promote human rights

Strengthen preventive diplomacy by special representatives

Set up regional models under the UN and help coordinate
preventative activities

Improve international ability to strengthen the credibility and
use of sanctions

Establish a mechanism to coordinate operations of UN & NGO’s

Examine the proposal for a Rapid Reaction Force for forceful and
prompt UN responses to crisis

Assess the ability of like-minded states to act together through the
UN to address problems that can lead to mass violence

EFFORTS TO RESOLVE ROOT CAUSES OF VIOLENCE

Control, reduce and eventually eliminate weapons of mass
destruction: nuclear, chemical and biological

Control the trade in conventional weapons

Promote the establishment of stable, democratic governments

Encourage the rule of law and an honest, effective judiciary

Promote tolerance & peaceful coexistence of minorities

Assist in economic development

Promote the development of conflict resolution strategies

Work to improve health standards and practices

Improve literacy

Manage resources & technologies to advance
the development of a large middle class

EFFORTS TO ALLEVIATE RISK FACTORS
(AT FLASH POINT)

Alert appropriate international bodies

Secure reliable information about the parties, the issues,
and their regional implications

Identify and strengthen moderate leaders and groups and
communicate with them

Develop contingency plans to encourage nonviolence, limit the
spread of violence and penalize aggressors

Plan political, economic, social and military alternatives

Continued political support, pressure and economic engagement
when crisis passes

Consult with interested states

Increase readiness of forces

Coordinate the use of military forces for nonmilitary actions

Use diplomacy or military demonstrations to "draw a line"
that should not be crossed

Communicate a commitment to take stronger action if necessary

Prepare citizens to accept likely course of actions

Mediate conflict; initiate formal negotiations

HANDOUT #7 THE MAKING AND UNMAKING OF YUGOSLAVIA

14^th -19^th century - hegemony over south Slavic ethnic groups by Ottoman & Hapsburg empires

World War I - Defeat of Turkey and Austria leads to formation of independent, multi-ethnic Yugoslavia
(South Slavs) under Serbian King Alexander
major ethnic groups - Serbs, Croats, Slovenians, Moslems

World War II - Croats backed Nazis and persecuted Serbs in Croatia
Tito & Communist Party lead anti-Nazi partisans
hatred among ethnic groups leads to atrocities - 10% of population killed

Post World War II - Tito elected prime minister - Communist, but independent from USSR
relatively liberal economic policies, but strict political control kept ethnic tensions contained -
resentments persisted

1980 - death of Tito

1989 - Fall of Berlin Wall encourages independence movements in Eastern Europe

1991 - Slovenia & Croatia declare independence
Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic - policy of "Greater Serbia" seeks to protect Serbs in Croatia
& Bosnia (2 million of 10.5 million Serbs in former Yugoslavia)
and add them and their land to "Greater Serbia"
Fighting broke out between Serbia and Croatia
UN imposed arms embargo on all former Yugoslav states
favored Serbs - they controlled all former Yugoslavian army weapons

1992 - Cease-fire negotiated by UN Special Envoy Cyrus Vance
After referendum, Bosnia-Herzegovina secedes from Yugoslavia
Bosnia = 43.7% Moslem, 31.4% Serb and 17.3% Croat
Bosnian Serbs boycott election and declare their own independent state
Bosnian leader Alya Izetbegovic asked for UN peacekeepers to head off conflict
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, with aid from Serbia, began fighting to add Serb-populated areas to rump Yugoslavia - by end of year Bosnian Serbs control 70% of Bosnia

Policy of "ethnic cleansing" - removing all non-Serbs from areas the Serbs wanted - concentration camps set up - genocide charged
UN imposed sanctions on Serbia
EC called for London Conference - recognized Bosnia, branded Serbia an aggressor & called for UN peacekeepers into Bosnia
UN began a humanitarian mission to supply food & medicine to Moslems
Peace Plan devised by Cyrus Vance (represents UN) and David Owen (EC)
divided Bosnia into 10 ethnically based provinces
Croats accepted; after Western pressure, Moslems reluctantly accepted; Serbs
rejected

1993 - US, UK, France & Spain propose 6 "safe havens" for Bosnian Moslems
Russia secretly sells arms to Bosnian Serbs
Iran begins to arm Bosnian Moslems and Croats
West devises 2 more partition plans and threatens to call off arms embargo if not accepted
Bosnian Serbs reject plans and West backs down again
NATO agrees to conduct airstrikes, but requires approval from commander of UN forces
UN Secretary General Boutros Ghali and all 16 members of NATO -ineffective

1995 - Mass killings in "safe haven" of Srebrenica outraged international community
New rules of engagement for NATO airstrikes adopted
After killing in market in Sarajevo NATO launches bombing attack against Bosnian
Serb installations above Sarajevo
Croats drive Serb forces out of Krajina region of Croatia
US negotiator Richard Holbrooke arranges cease-fire and peace conference convenes
in Dayton, Ohio

Dayton Accords signed by Izetbegovic (Bosnia) Milosevic (Serbia)

NATO-led inplementation force (IFOR) will establish demilitarized zones
to separate adversaries - can use force to implement agreement
(8500 Americans)
A unified state, Bosnia & Herzegovina; will be established; it will be a
federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina (Muslim-Croat unit) and
Republika Srpska (Bosnian Serb unit)
Capital, Sarajevo, will be a united city
Three person presidency (a Moslem, Croat & Serb); chair will rotate
Internationally supervised elections in 1996
Refugees may return home(assisted by UN High Commissioner on Human Rights)
No one charged with war crimes may participate in political life

1996 - Elections: 3 nationalist parties won in their areas; irregularities & fears of violence
led the Organization for Security & Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to postpone
municipal elections indefinitely

Fear that as soon as NATO forces leave, fighting will resume

HANDOUT #8 POSSIBLE CAUSES OF DEADLY CONFLICT IN BOSNIA

CAUSES

SPECIFIC EXAMPLE IN BOSNIA